The other ‘winners’ in this scenario are home-produced hummus, tofu and marmalade, which could become a common sight on supermarket shelves by 2080.
There would be increases in suitability for a broad range of crops not currently widely grown in the UK – such as sunflower, durum wheat, soybeans, cow peas, citrus fruit and wine grapes.
The research also found that some existing key crops are likely to become harder to grow in our agricultural heartlands. Wheat, strawberries, onions and oats are likely to become harder to grow in the South East and East Anglia due to the predicted temperature change.
The scientists investigated the future suitability for over 160 existing and new food crops in different regions of the UK under warming scenarios of two and four degrees celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
It is the most comprehensive research of its kind to date and the first to show how suitability for certain produce will vary across the UK.
Lead author Dr John Redhead a spatial ecologist at UKCEH, said: “Our climate is expected to change substantially over coming decades at a time when there will be rising demand for food due to population growth.
“It is therefore essential that arable farming becomes more resilient; one possible solution is growing different crops that are more suited to the new local conditions. Climate change is happening now, and its impacts will increase by 2080, so whatever action is taken will involve big challenges in terms of where our food comes from and the way our agricultural landscapes are managed.”